The Playstation 3 is hurting. The console is expensive. Sales are weak. The Blu-ray disc player is still a hard sell for most consumers.
And one former bright spot for the console is looking more and more like a bust. Earlier this year, the excited buzz around Home -- a virtual world based on the PS3 platform -- was a shining star for Sony's PS3 team amid a sea of negative PS3 publicity. Now it seems the project is turning into a dead weight. There were hints earlier this month that Sony was trying to downplay expectations; now it turns out Home will be delayed until spring 2008. Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group COO Kaz Hirai delivered the bad news at the Tokyo Game Show:
"I'm sorry about the delay, but since we want this to be a worldwide service -- our territories all have their own wishes for it -- it's taking a bit longer for us to develop. We want Home to be satisfactory to all types of users around the world, so we decided to delay it," said Hirai.
Microsoft has already launched into news of Home-related delays as proof that Sony doesn't understand consumers. Truth be told, Home is the least of Sony's worries right now. Microsoft's XBox 360 platform is going to hit one out of the park when Halo 3 goes on sale this week, and Sony doesn't have anything to answer with. The holiday buying season will kick into high gear in two months, and it doesn't look there will be any Christmas miracle for the PS3.
Related News and Discussion:
- Daily IT Blogwatch: Sony's Home run (and Dylan hears a Who)
- Sony cuts PlayStation 3 price by $100
- Sony unveils new Blu-ray recorders to fight HD DVD
- Shark Bait: Xbox360 vs PS3 vs Wii
- Ian Lamont's blog: Google moving in on Second Life?
- Ian Lamont's blog: There.com vs. Second Life